Bella was never too good at packing. Her idea of it was simply throwing everything she thought she might need at a case, and hoping it would all fit. It never did. She just ended up with a pile of clothes and books overflowing out of a maroon Hogwarts trunk, the lid hanging limply behind the stack, unable to cope with the load. Bella sighed and drew her wand, aiming it vaguely at the case.

'Compresso.' She said flatly, as the pile submerged slightly. A couple more attempts at it and everything was pressed into the case. Bella slammed the lid down and gave it a few pushes before she heard the lid click into place. She fasted the lock and heaved the case off her bed, and it landed on the hard wood floor with a thud. Bella growled to herself and drew her wand once more. She levitated the case from the ground. To Bella's surprise, levitating it didn't make it as light as she thought it would. Her arm ached as she held her wand out in front of her, the case bobbing along the staircase to the hallway below.

Andromeda's bedroom door opened and Bella heard her sister swear to herself as she nearly walked into the flying suitcase. She rolled her eyes and prepared herself for the storm she was about to step into.

'What the hell, Bellatrix?' Andromeda began, glaring at her sister.

Bella raised her eyebrows. 'What? I'm just taking my case downstairs! It's not my fault if you don't look where you're going!'

'Oh, I'm sorry for not anticipating flying suitcases every time I open the door!' Andromeda shouted back, her hair whipping itself behind her, even with no breeze.

'Here's a tip, Annie,' Bella started, her voice quieter. 'you don't live in the boring little world that your mudblood friends come from! You are a pureblood, and as such, you ought to anticipate magic everywhere you go!'

'Bellatrix, don't you dare start about that! You don't know any of my friends. It's not my problem that you don't know what nice people, and gifted people they are!'

'Gifted? Is that what you're calling it? I'd have called it being shit at magic.'

'Bellatrix!' Annie was screaming now. She usually fought back, but not like this. Bella took a step back, trying to analyse why her sister was suddenly so ticked off about this. Maybe Bella had just tried it one too many times and Annie had snapped. It didn't seem so likely.

'It's that guy, isn't it?' Bella said suddenly, remembering something she'd seen at the party. 'That mudblood you brought to the party. The one who didn't know what the mood potion was! I saw it turn pink when you were holding it. Mum and dad would literally disown you if you started seeing him. You know that, right?' Bella sniggered, loving how she could make her sister squirm.

Annie's expression suddenly changed. 'Not sure it's me who should be worrying seeing the wrong guy.' She said simply, a smug smile appearing on her face.

'What do you mean by that?' Bella shot back, any trace of her previous happiness completely vanished.

'Nothing,' Annie shrugged, before bringing her eyes up to meet her sister's. 'what could I possibly mean by it?'

Bella shook her head and followed her suitcase downstairs. She tried her hardest to dismiss what Annie had just said, but she couldn't quite push it out of her mind. Narcissa wouldn't have told her, would she? Bella knew that Narcissa got on better with Annie than she did, but neither of them would say they got on well with her. Either that or Annie had seen James. But he said he'd been careful and no one had seen him… Bella ran her hand through her hair and ordered herself to stop thinking about it.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was always busy. The only times it was every active was during the start and end of terms at Hogwarts. Bella sighed as she saw the buzz before her. She hated coming when it was like this. All the hassle of dealing with so many people all at once. She'd much rather it was quiet. Bella hated this trip even more because she was trying her best to look out for Roddy Lestrange, and to sprint in the opposite direction if she saw him.

Luckily, the first person Bella saw was the familiar, and tired, face of Evan Rosier. He was in some kind of whispered discussion with someone, just near the back of the platform. Bella casually snuck past him to get on the very last door of the train. She'd already lost Narcissa when she saw Olivia Rookwood.

'Did you speak to him?' Evan asked the other guy quietly.

'Yeah,'

'And?'

The other guy shook his head. 'Nothing. I hinted at it, but he wasn't having any of it. And I didn't want to push it too far…'

'No,' Evan agreed. 'that's probably best. But if he's said he's going to do it for people as close as we are… then why hasn't he?'

'Maybe he hasn't worked out how to do it yet?'

'Yeah, maybe.' Evan sighed. 'Anyway, I'd better get on, I've got to go to the Prefect's compartment.'

'He'll like you less if you think you're Mr Perfect and that.' The other guy teased. Evan smirked and left him standing on the platform. Bella kept walking on and picked up her pace, having slowed down to listen to their conversation. She was slightly confused about it. Who were they talking about… and what was 'he' planning to do to them? It sounded odd to say the least.

The door of the compartment on Bella's left swung open of its own accord.

'Ciao Bella.'

She smiled to herself and turned to enter the compartment. Barty Crouch was sprawled out across the whole of one side of the bench inside, his suitcase haphazardly perched on the rack above him.

'Hello handsome.' Bella said back with a smile. This was their greeting. Always. Barty had been a friend virtually since they started Hogwarts, and he'd been particularly amazed when he found out that Bella meant beautiful in Italian. And so, Bella would always translate the masculine version whenever she was greeted in this manner.

He smirked and gestured for her to sit down. She accepted his request and sat on the opposite bench.

'I didn't mean there.' He grinned at her. She raised her eyebrows. Barty lifted his legs up and stared back at her. Bella took a moment and got up again, placing herself neatly in the space Barty had left for her. He put his legs back over her once she'd sat down.

'Good summer?' He asked her casually, dragging his mop-like dark hair off his face.

'Yeah,' She replied slowly. 'where were you? I wanted to invite you to the party we had, but I didn't know where to write to.'

'Here and there.' He shrugged. 'I had to get away from my dad's place. I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for a while, then I ran out of money. Mr Borgin let me crash in the backroom of his shop for a few weeks, provided to did a bit of work, obviously.' He said it all so casually. Bella's eyes had got wider the more he said. She was always concerned for him, but she knew better than to try and convince him to stop. Barty didn't have a good relationship with his father, and since his mother died when he was younger, he spent most of his holidays trying to be anywhere else but home. In fact, he didn't even refer to it as home. It was his dad's house. Not his.

'You could have stayed with me, you know. My parents would have let you stay… rather than staying in the Leaky Cauldron, for Merlin's sake! That place is horrific.' Bella said, trying to let her voice show her genuine concern.

'It's not that bad,' Barty smirked back at her. 'They gave me free drinks sometimes, so it's not all bad.'

'Oh God. You'll never change, will you?'

'Hell no.' He grinned back, pulling her into a hug.

The door slid open, and the sullen, angry face of Roddy Lestrange greeted them. Bella glared at him, but didn't move. And Barty loved to play games too much to miss Roddy's expression getting more and more aggressive.

'Didn't realise I'd be interrupting a special moment. My apologies.' He growled at the pair of them. Bella bit her lip trying not to laugh. She let her hands fall back to her as she let go of her friend. When no one replied, Roddy took it as an invitation to keep talking. 'So this is how it is, is it? You finish with me and start seeing him this fast?'

'Fast?' Bella spat back at him, unable to stop herself. 'Fast? It's been about two months since we broke up!'

'Well, all I'm saying is that I've got a bit more class than to just jump into another relationship for no reason.'

Bella was about to reply, when she felt Barty's hand creeping up her back. She hid a smirk. 'Don't talk to me about class, Lestrange.' She bit back. 'I'm just sorry you're naïve enough to think you have it. You want to get into a family history debate?'

Roddy scowled. 'Not with you, I don't. Him? Absolutely. His father works at the Ministry, for Merlin's sake!'

'Yeah, I know,' Bella continued, before she was interrupted by Barty.

'My father has got nothing to do with this, Lestrange. He's got as much class as a Gryffindor, so you can't argue with me about that.' Barty said, a sudden angry twinge in her voice, that even sent a shiver down Bella's spine.

'Coming from a Ravenclaw, that's rich.' Roddy scoffed.

'Get out.' Bella told him suddenly.

'What?'

'Get out!' She repeated harshly, perfectly ready to stand up and throw him out herself. She suddenly got the sudden feeling of anger, like a small sip of what she had felt that night at her cousins' house, when the windows had shattered in the drawing room. Roddy's eyes widened with panic for a second as he saw Bella's dark eyes almost flash red.

'I was about to leave anyway.' He said in a small voice, before slowly backing out of the doorway and slipping out of sight.

'Cool off, Bells.' Barty laughed, stroking her hair with his hand.

'Yeah… sorry.' She muttered, slightly scared about her outburst.

'I'm kidding, of course,' Barty grinned, then kissed her cheek in a purely friendly fashion. 'it's kind of exciting.' She looked back at him slightly sarcastically.

'Don't start,' Bella laughed. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her almost onto his lap.

'You're a pretty sexy girl, Bells.' He smirked.

'I know, thanks,' She replied with a giggle, trying to free herself from his grasp.

Two girls appeared in the open doorway. Lucy Rosier shook her blonde head at her friends, and the girl next to her simply laughed.

'You just can't keep off her, can you?' The other girl grinned, a strong Welsh accent slipping with her words. Abby Hartford. Another one of Bella's best friends. She never really put in an appearance in the holidays, she was always off on some extravagant trip with her family. Her parents were very wealthy, even by Bella's standards, but her grandparents were even richer, and they liked to see the world.

Abby and Lucy sat themselves down opposite the other two.

'Oh,' Barty continued, finally releasing Bella. 'I ran into someone who used to go to Hogwarts while I was working for Mr Borgin. Tom something… Riddle, I think.' All three girls suddenly turned to stare at him. 'What?' He asked, confused as to why they had all become so interested.

'Tom Riddle?' Bella repeated.

'The actual Tom Riddle?' Lucy agreed. 'As in, ex-captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Tom Riddle?'

'Yes.' Barty replied slowly, still unsure as to their interest.

'Wow.' Abby breathed, glancing back at her friends to share their sudden excitement. 'That's amazing!'

'How? He's just some guy. Just thought I'd mention it because Bella was on the Quidditch team while he was Captain.'

'Yeah,' Bella agreed. 'and I could barely speak while he was around!'

Lucy let out a small squeak of excitement. 'He's so hot…' She breathed.

'Oh God,' Barty sighed. 'what the hell have I done telling you this. Don't go stalking him, will you?' He looked round at the girls. 'Any of you. He seemed like a bit of a dodgy guy, if I'm honest.'

'Don't be.' Abby told him, her voice slippery like honey. 'Who cares if he's dodgy? He's gorgeous.'

'Agreed.' Bella grinned back at her.

'I'm going.' Barty announced, not really certain it would matter to them anyway. No one seemed interested, as they continued to witter away about Tom Riddle. He cleared his throat. 'I'm going.'

'Oh,' Bella looked at him briefly. 'okay, see you later.'

Barty rolled his eyes and left the compartment quickly, slamming the door behind him. The girls didn't even notice.

'I can't believe he saw Tom Riddle.' Lucy said once more. 'I mean… wow.'

'I know…' Abby's voice simply trailed away.

'Hey,' Bella interrupted suddenly. 'Abby, you can't talk! Aren't you meant to be going out with Matt Flint?'

Abby waved her comment away. 'Yeah. But if Tom Riddle swooped by, I'd happily forget all about him.'

Bella laughed at her for a moment, then stopped. 'I wonder why Barty thought he was dodgy though… I mean, he was Head Boy. Didn't he get the Services to the School Award, as well?'

'Yeah,' Lucy agreed, a sudden confused expression on her face. 'he was sort of a golden boy, wasn't he?'

Abby was still staring out of the window dreamily, watching the scenery pass her by. Bella shook her head at her. No wonder this girl was dating Matt Flint – they were almost perfect for each other in every which way possible. Abby said it herself, she'd drop Matt like a hot cauldron if Tom Riddle turned up, and Bella knew for a fact that Matt would do exactly the same thing. Bella knew Matt well because he played Quidditch for the Slytherin team, same as Bella did, and she heard all the changing room conversations. Sometimes the boys would talk to the girls over the partition- other times Bella would just listen in. Matt wasn't exactly the most faithful boyfriend, but then again, Abby wasn't the most faithful girlfriend, either.

To Bella's surprise, the door slid open once more and Matt Flint appeared. Bella smirked to herself.

'Hey, babe.' He addressed Abby, disregarding all others.

'Hi, honey,' Bella got their first, as her and Lucy burst out laughing straight after.

Matt grinned at her. 'Hey, sexy,' He turned back to Abby, who was now wearing a more than sour expression. 'd'you wanna go? There's a spare compartment across there.' He nodded towards the other end of the train.

'Suppose so.' Abby muttered. 'ceiliog dwp.' She said something in Welsh under her breath.

'What?' Matt asked, apparently thinking he'd missed her saying something to him.

'Nothing,' Abby smiled sweetly.

'What does it mean?' Lucy whispered to her.

'Stupid cock.' Abby beamed back. Lucy and Bella started laughing again, as Abby shut the compartment door behind her.

The conversation moved swiftly on as the train progressed. The girls began talking about guys again, as Bella sat slightly un-easily, her mind bringing James Potter to the forefront.

'So, did you see Roddy again in the holidays?' Lucy asked. She didn't come to Bella's party, as she was on holiday with her parents. Her brother didn't go. Bella made a mental note to add that to the list of suspicious things going on with Evan Rosier.

'Yeah,' Bella sighed. 'unfortunately.'

'You're gonna end up back with him eventually.' Lucy commented casually.

Bella spat back at her. 'No, I'm not! Not a chance in hell.'

'Oh? So you're going to get with who, exactly? Barty?' Lucy said it with a smile on her face, but she really was considering it as a possibility for her best friend.

'What? No,' Bella giggled. 'of course not. He's a friend. That's all.'

'You sure?'

'Absolutely.'

'He does seem to like touching you…' Lucy observed once more.

Bella mused over this. 'Well, yeah… but in a really innocent, jokey way. He doesn't mean it like… sexually.' Lucy held back a laugh.

'If you say so,' She decided, although not entirely convinced. 'so… who are you seeing now then? I mean… I'm so used to you being with Roddy, I can't really imagine you with anyone else. I always saw you two getting married or something.'

Bella let out a harsh laugh. 'Married? Are you joking? I'd never have any freedom! He'd want a housewife, most certainly. And can you really imagine me staying in to cook and clean all day?'

'Well, no, not really.' Lucy smirked.

'And he's always said he'd want children.' Bella added, disgust lacing her voice. 'And that's like my nightmare. Staying in and looking after small kids? I don't think so.'

'No… I suppose not.' Lucy seemed rather disheartened by this. 'I guess it's with you guys being together so much for so long… it's going to be a bit shocking to see you with someone else.'

'Maybe you won't see me with someone else. Maybe I'll just be single for a bit.'

Lucy smirked at her. 'You? Really?'

'Yeah! What's wrong with that?'

'And by single, you mean getting off with a load of boys.'

'Of course.' Bella grinned. 'You know me too well!'

'First prey?'

'Not sure yet…' Bella pretended to genuinely think it over. 'What do you think?'

'Hmm…' Lucy thought. 'There's that Ravenclaw guy, what's his name? The one who's their Seeker?'

'Chesney?'

'That's the one.'

Chesney Larkin was a very good looking guy, Bella had to admit it. He was a very kind and considerate guy, too. And that was exactly why Bella would never want anything to do with him. He was far too nice for her taste. She thought about James. He was nice in a different way. He was nice in a way that wasn't nice. He was just the guy for her, Bella decided. He was perfect in every which way. One problem – he was a Gryffindor. And that was the only problem.